Well, I finally got around to attending a Renaissance Faire, after obsessing over them for years. It's always been too far away, but now it's just over the hill. So, I donned my dress and Matt wore his new kilt. We made quite a dashing couple!One thing that caught my attention was the bawdiness of the songs. In history class you don't get the true feel of what the Ren times were all about. You hear about castles and knights and artists and playwrights, but there's little for the senses. You don't smell the Renaissance times (and trust me, it was so hot and dusty, by noon there was quite a smell). And you don't hear it. There's a sound to Renaissance faires. Not just the language. There's the harp and pipe, the nasal of the sackbut, the strumming of the lute, the drone of the bagpipes, and the bouncing lyrics of the songs... songs that are risqué while still presuming to be peasantish and simple.
I have a favorite group called the Brobdingnagian Bards. They're in Texas, so I've never seen them live, but I caught their music on download.com and instantly went wow! Please, if you want to know what Renaissance music is like, check them out. I have some of their CDs, and they have free songs to download, too. Now, whenever Matt wears his kilt, I start singing "Donald, Where's Your Trousers."
Another great RenFaire music group who I saw yesterday was The Merry Wives of Windsor. These girls (and guy musicians) are not only lovely and talented, they made me laugh until my corset hurt! You've gotta love songs called "The Bartering Whore" and "I Live to Give My Husband Grief." I warn you only this: these songs are not something to play to your children!
Then there was of course the beer, the sonorous language, meeting the Queen, working on my genuflect, drinking beer, the jousting, the jugglers, the beautiful costumes, someone dressed at Captain Jack Sparrow (and damn good!), the tasty beer, the magicians, the gypsies, the who-needs-bloody-utensils food... did I mention the beer?
One lesson I learned, and a hint to anyone thinking about dressing up for the RenFaire: corsets are not for the faint of heart! I've worn corsets before, but this was pure torture! It reached over 90 degrees yesterday, and I thought I was going to pass out. I had to keep sitting to catch my breath.Everything was great otherwise. Matt got some training in sword mastery. I just wish I had thought about pulling out my camera, catching a shot of him swinging around that huge claymore! He was in heaven! I couldn't help but think of medieval phallic symbols and hum one of those Windsor wenches tunes.
I'm definitely going again next year, even if it's bloody hot again.
